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Royal Appointment for Pioneering Nurse

A Manchester nurse on the frontline of the fight against infectious diseases in prisons has been awarded an MBE.

50-year-old, Joanne Noble RGN MBE, has worked at HMP Manchester for 24 years, dedicating the last six years to tackling the spread of Hepatitis in prisons. Joanne, who is originally from Bury, was awarded her MBE by HRH Queen Elizabeth II at a recent ceremony in Buckingham Palace.

She said: “I'm so proud and honoured to have been nominated for this award. I have done none of this alone and all of my colleagues and managers have been supportive and encouraging. “Without them, none of it could have been done. The ceremony on February 1, 2018, was life changing for me and it reflects not only upon me, but my colleagues too.”

Throughout her career Joanne has been on the vanguard of prison health care leading a Kings Fund project, Enhancing the Healing Environment, alongside her work to tackle blood borne diseases. Joanne added: “For the last six years I have had the privilege of working closely with Jayne Bennett and the consultants of the infectious diseases team from North Manchester General Hospital.

“We have been at the forefront of prison innovation in the Hepatitis field, in both encouraging treatment and testing.

“I have had the honour of facilitating and implementing fibroscanning, dry blood spot testing and treatment plans through to cure.”

Joanne’s work has been a vital part of preventing the spread of Hepatitis and other blood borne diseases from prison into the community. The impact of the work has been such that Joanne and her colleagues from North Manchester General were invited to speak to the All Parliamentary Group on Hepatitis in Prisons at the House of Commons. Joanne said: “The massive strides taken by the prison health service in reducing the incidences of hepatitis B, through the accelerated vaccine programme, is proof of what can be achieved and we are now doing it with the other blood borne viruses.

“If we don't do this at the coalface with high risk groups, we stand no chance of improving the health of the general public.”

Chief Executive of Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Bev Humphrey, said: “I’d like to congratulate Joanne on her honour and for making such a huge difference to lives of the people she cares for and the community at large.”